Port Everglades and Royal Caribbean Sign MOU Including Terminal Renovations for Celebrity Edge

Tuesday, March 14, 2017 4:00 PM

BROWARD COUNTY, FL -- Broward County's Port Everglades has negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that provides the framework for a new long-term business agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (RCL) that will include complete, customized renovations of the Port's Cruise Terminal 25 targeted for completion by October 31, 2018.

"Our cruise line customers are becoming more sophisticated in the way they think about the guest experience, as we saw when Royal Caribbean partnered in the construction of Cruise Terminal 18 for their Oasis class of ships," said Port Everglades Chief Executive Steven Cernak. "We value the company's partnership and confidence to bring the newest ships from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises to Port Everglades."

On Monday, RCL announced that its newest Celebrity Cruises ship Celebrity Edge will homeport in Port Everglades beginning in the fall of 2018. Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas, the newest Oasis class ship, began sailing from Port Everglades in November 2016.

The MOU will allow negotiations to move forward toward a final agreement that must be approved by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. RCL's current agreement expires on December 31, 2017. The new agreement will be effective on January 1, 2018, and expire on Sept. 30, 2026 with options to extend the agreement for four years, followed by another five years.

Located in the second largest county in Florida, Broward County's Port Everglades is consistently ranked as one of the three busiest cruise ports in the world with more than 3.8 million passengers in 2016. Ten cruise lines, one ferry service and more than 40 cruise ships sail from the South Florida seaport including: Balearia's Bahamas Express (ferry), Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn and Silversea Cruises. The Port's wide-ranging fleet of cruise ships provides guests with an array of cruise vacation choices from the sunny Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Dania Beach area. View details on the latest cruise offerings at porteverglades.net or contact us by emailing PortEverglades@broward.org.